2012 Food & Wine Morocco: Merguez Sausage

During Food & Wine, year after year, the Kefta Pocket severely disappoints. Last year’s Harissa Chicken Roll, while having potential, also left us wanting more from this fantastic pavilion’s kiosk. I was reserved about attempting the Merguez Sausage: a beef and lamb sausage with grilled peppers and onions. Oh yeah, and I LOVE merguez. The dish had some promise in simply reading the description. Could this be the year Morocco redeems itself?

Sigh… Why is it served in a pita pocket?! The menu notes the use of pita for the kefta pocket, but not the merguez. In fact, where is the merguez?

Peek-a-Boo! Oh, there it is.

Morocco, pls.

I will say that the sausage itself did in fact have some okay seasoning, as well as a bit of gaminess. Well, I hope it was the gaminess of lamb and not just sour meat. All said, it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t great, but I’d be okay with the dish without the pita. The dry, dry pita.

Do you know how much fresh pita I could have made at home
for the $5 I spent on this?

If you’ve never had merguez and are interested in trying it, and Food & Wine is likely your only feasible option to do so, by all means, please consider ordering it in Morocco. While I haven’t had the Kefta Pocket this year, and likely will not, I can say based on past experiences that the merguez is a better option of the two.

Once again, I’m hoping the Morocco kiosk figures it out next year. I really need to know your thoughts on the food options here! Not just for me, but other readers. Please share your experience at this year’s Morocco kiosk!

13 responses to “2012 Food & Wine Morocco: Merguez Sausage”

I tried the merguez at this pavilion this past weekend. I have to say I was disappointed. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I also thought it was overpriced for what you got. The merguez sausage that Mara (AKL) serves with their “African Inspired Breakfast” platter is far better & bigger to boot.

Not there yet but I agree that the past several years the kefta pocket has left us disappointed. It was really good when it first came out but don’t know what happened since then. It just tastes like really bland hamburger. I was really looking forward to the merguez sausage but not I’m not so sure after hearing your reaction and seeing the pics. I might still try it since I do like the Tangierine Cafe’s food.

Jennifer – I agree! The merguez at The Mara is delicious, and I really enjoyed their breakfast platter!

Cherry – They have the same problem with the Moroccan Kefta Sandwich at Tangierine Cafe. The merguez is pretty pricey for what you get. For a better value, the Italian Sausage with Peppers in Italy is a MUCH better value – I’ll post on it soon!

The Morocco booth has been disappointment after disappointment since they got rid of the hummus and pita chips. Now that was nice & cool and very yummy during the hot times at Food & Wine. The kefta pocket, the sausage, the chicken, all of those items from recent years have not been hits with us.

Sarah, I guess it’s a good thing I haven’t tried the kefta sandwich there. I do like their schwarma platter though, I wonder if next year they can do a mini one or something like that and remove the kefta pocket. Looking forward to your Italian sausage with peppers review. The pics I’ve seen look really good.

nora – Unfortunately, I never had the Hummus and Pita chips from the kiosk, but I can imagine, like you mentioned, that it was a great compliment to the Florida heat! Now I have a craving for pita & hummus! ;)

Cherry – Totally avoid the kefta. Their shawarma is where it’s at – We LOVE the lamb! I’ve been saying for years that they should offer it at the kiosk during F&W, and I’m glad you feel that way too. They already have the items on hand and could easily put together a couple slices of the meats with a couple small spoons of perhaps the couscous and lentil salad. Come on, Disney! Let’s get it right! ;)

They had the Harissa Chicken Roll last year, and I was sorely disappointed. I thought it tasted like a Southwest Egg Roll from Chili’s. Didn’t really have any of the Moroccan spice I was hoping for. How was it this year?

It was only okay (and a bit dry). I tried one of everything and I would have to say all four of the Moroccan dishes were unremarkable at best. I will say that the kefta pocket pita was dry for me but the Merguez pita had a better texture. Not sure why.

For kefta, the best place I’ve had it on property was at Sanaa. Amazing! The merguez sausage itself I didn’t mind, but the dried out pita with which it was served was a poor choice. Still need to try the Baklava, but I have a feeling that I can order the same thing at the pastry shop inside of Tangierine Cafe any time of year. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the pavilion!